B W LANGLEY & SON LTD
💤Zombieactive
09579530 · ltd · incorporated 2015-05-07
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 01130SIC 01130
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
31 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 5 | 500 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-10-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-10-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-04-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-27📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2015-05-07🏢Company incorporatedAs B W LANGLEY & SON LTD
- 2015-05-07➕LANGLEY, Bryan William appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LANGLEY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Rosemary Jane Langley Individual · British · DOB 04/1953 · age 73 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 30/09/2016 |
Mr Clyde William Langley Individual · British · DOB 12/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 15/08/2016 |
Mr Bryan William Langley Individual · British · DOB 01/1946 · age 80 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · PE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B & W FARMS LIMITED→ 02225084 · est 1988 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 38y | — | — |
| B.A.HERD & SON LIMITED→ 09391236 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| BANK FARM LIMITED→ 00388078 · est 1944 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 81y | — | — |
| BARTON BENDISH FARMING LIMITED→ 06157196 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| BEE HONEY FARM LTD→ 14891270 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BEEFY'S LIVESTOCK LIMITED→ 15463910 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BESPOKE FORESTRY LTD→ 14854888 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BIGGLESWADE & HITCHIN AA LIMITED→ 04483755 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| BIRCH L & L LTD→ 16589216 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BIRCH TREE PROJECTS LIMITED→ 13436366 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BLETSOE BNG LIMITED→ 15173969 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BLUE SKY HOME BUILD LIMITED→ 11497257 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →🔒Advanced scoring suite
Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2015-05-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Registered office
Norfolk House
Hamlin Way
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 4NG
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last: 2025-10-17
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
LANGLEY, Bryan William→
Activedirector · ~80y · appointed 2015-05-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-10-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-23